U.S. and Global Entities Collaborate on Hydrogen Fuel Safety

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO), the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the new Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) launched by AIChE, are to work together with several global entities to facilitate information sharing on hydrogen safety and best practices among national and international stakeholders with an interest in hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

CHS aligns with recommendations made by the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee, with roots back to a previously DOE-funded effort called the Hydrogen Safety Panel established in 2003.

Recent years have seen a gradual increase in the use of hydrogen for emerging applications including transportation, stationary power, and energy storage. Thousands of fuel cells running on hydrogen fuel are already in use in commercial vehicles, forklifts, and backup power units throughout the United States. As interest in hydrogen grows, whether it is for fuel, energy storage, or industrial processes, making information on hydrogen safety accessible to a wide group of stakeholders across multiple industries will be valuable.

DOE’s FCTO advances hydrogen and fuel cell technologies through an early-stage research and development (R&D) portfolio focusing on key technical challenges in fuel cells, hydrogen production, delivery and storage, as well as safety, codes and standards. CHS will support these activities by identifying key hydrogen-safety R&D gaps, and by bringing together valuable resources and expertise to facilitate information-sharing and understanding of the safe use of hydrogen across sectors in the economy.

The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) launched the Center for Hydrogen Safety on April 2 in New Orleans, Louisiana.